A. General. This section prescribes procedural and substantive rules governing the city's industrial waste program promulgated to protect the city's collection and treatment works, and to provide a method of controlling industrial discharges to the system.
B. Prohibition of discharges. Except as authorized by a permit issued by the department in compliance with the provisions of this section, it is unlawful for any person to discharge any industrial waste into any portion of the city's sewage collection system.
C. Application and procedure.
1. Any person discharging industrial wastewater shall file a complete application not later than 60 days following receipt of notice from the Director to submit such application.
2. Any person wishing to commence future discharges of industrial wastes must file a complete application either:
a. Not less than 90 days in advance of the date on which it is desired to commence the discharge; or
b. In sufficient time prior to the commencement of the discharge to insure compliance with this section.
c. The Director may require the submission of additional information after a permit application has been filed.
3. Information and data on a user obtained from reports, questionnaires, permit applications, permits and monitoring programs and from inspections shall be available to the public or other governmental agency without restriction unless the user specifically requests and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the city that the release of such information would divulge information, processes or methods of production entitled to protection as trade secret of the user.
a. To claim his trade secret protection, the user must specify at the time of submitting his reports or information, that part he desires to protect.
b. When requested by the person furnishing a report, the portions of a report which might disclose trade secrets or secret processes shall not be made available for inspection by the public but shall be made available upon written request to governmental agencies for uses related to this section, the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) permit, state disposal system permit and/or the pretreatment programs; provided, however, that such portions of a report shall be available for use by the city, the state or any state agency in judicial review or enforcement proceedings involving the person furnishing the report. Wastewater constituents and characteristics will not be recognized as confidential information.
D. Signature requirements.
1. Application and reporting forms submitted to the department shall be signed as follows:
a. Corporations: by a principal executive officer (of at least the level of vice president) or his duly authorized representative who is responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge described in the application or reporting form originates;
b. Partnership: by a general partner;
c. Sole proprietorship: by the proprietor;
d. State or other public facility: by either a principal executive officer, ranking elected official or other duly authorized employee.
2. Each application must contain a certification by the person signing the application that he/she is familiar with the information provided, that to the best of his knowledge and belief such information is complete and accurate, and that he has the authority to sign and execute the application.
E. Other terms and conditions of issued permits.
1. In addition, the terms and conditions of each issued permit shall provide for and insure the following:
a. That all discharges authorized by the permit shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of the permit; that facility expansions, change of ownership or location, production increases, or process modifications which result in new or increased discharges of pollutants must be reported by submitting a new permit application at least 90 days before such changes occur or, if such discharge does not violate discharge limitations specified in the permit, by submission to the Director of a notice of such new or increased discharge or pollutants at least 90 days before such changes occur; that the discharge of any pollutant not identified and authorized by the permit or the discharge of any pollutant more frequently than or at a level in excess of that identified and authorized by the permit shall constitute a violation of the terms and conditions of the permit;
b. That the permit may be modified, suspended or revoked, in whole or in part, during its term for cause including, but not limited to, the following:
i. Violation of any terms or conditions of the permit;
ii. Obtaining a permit by misrepresentation or failure to disclose fully all relevant facts, or
iii. A change in conditions, or the existence of a condition, which requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the permitted activity;
c. That the permittee shall permit the Director and/or his authorized representative, upon the presentation of his credentials:
i. To enter upon the permittee's premises during normal working hours in which an effluent source is located or in which any records are required to be kept under terms and conditions of the permit,
ii. To have access to and copy any records required to be kept under terms and conditions of the permit,
iii. To inspect any monitoring equipment or method required in the permit, or
iv. To sample and test any discharge;
d. That the permittee at all times shall maintain in good working order and operate as efficiently as possible any facilities or systems of control installed by the permittee to achieve compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit;
e. Upon the effective date of any federal categorical pretreatment standards for a particular industrial subcategory, the federal standard, if more stringent than limitations imposed under this chapter shall immediately supersede these limitations;
2. Notification requirements.
a. Notification of accidental discharge, slug loading, bypass, other noncompliance.
i. Immediate. In the event of bypass, upset, accidental discharge, spill, or slug load, which may endanger health, the environment, or the treatment works, the permittee shall notify the Director by telephone immediately upon discovery of the occurrence.
ii. Twenty-four hour reporting. The permittee shall report within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances, any upset which exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit, or exceedence of a maximum discharge limitation for any of the pollutants listed in the permit.
iii. Contact. Permittee shall contact the Director or designee during working hours or police department at other times. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions.
iv. Follow-up. Within 5 days following notification, the permittee shall submit to the Director a detailed written report containing such information and describing the cause of the discharge and measures to be taken by the permittee to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the permittee of any expense, loss, damage, fines, civil penalties or other liability which may be incurred as a result of damage to the treatment works or any other person or property; nor shall such notification relieve the permittee of any fines, civil penalties or other liability which may be imposed by this chapter or other applicable law.
b. The permittee shall report all instances of noncompliance at the time monitoring reports are submitted. The reports shall contain the information listed in this section.
c. Where the permittee becomes aware that it failed to submit any relevant facts in a permit application, or submitted incorrect information in a permit application or in any report to the Director, it shall promptly submit such facts or information.
3. Bypass.
a. The permittee may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provisions of this section.
b. If the permittee knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice, at least 10 days before the date of the bypass.
c. The permittee shall submit notice of an unanticipated bypass as required in this section.
4. Bypass is prohibited, and the Director may take enforcement action against a permittee for bypass, unless:
a. Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life or personal injury, or to prevent severe substantial physical property damage, causing them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe substantial property damage does not mean economic loss by delays in production;
b. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and
c. The permittee submitted notices as required under this section.
5. The Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Director determines that it will meet the 3 conditions listed in this section.
6. Suspension or revocation of a permit or any portion thereof pursuant to this section shall not be a bar to criminal prosecution where deemed appropriate by the City Attorney.
F. Duration, reissuance and assignment. The duration of the permits shall be fixed and shall not exceed 5 years. The expiration date shall be recorded on each permit issued. A new application must be filed with the department to obtain renewal or modification of a permit. Applications for renewal shall be filed at least 90 days prior to expiration of the permit. No permit shall be assigned or transferred without first obtaining the written permission of the Director. Fees shall be assessed pursuant to Chapter 3.20.
G. Monitoring, recording and reporting of discharges.
1. The department may, by order or permit, require the owner or operator of any source of a discharge to:
a. Establish and maintain such records;
b. Make such reports;
c. Install, calibrate, use and maintain such monitoring equipment or methods, including, where appropriate, biological monitoring methods;
d. Provide such other information relating to discharges as the Director prescribes or as is necessary to determine the existence, nature and frequency of any discharges.
2. The cost of all testing and sampling as may be required by the department shall be provided and paid for by the discharger.
H. Issuance, reapplication, modification, suspension and revocation.
1. The Director may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, modify, suspend or revoke any permit, in whole or in part, during its term for cause or for failure or refusal of the permittee to carry out the requirements of this chapter.
2. The Director may, upon request of the permittee, revise or modify a schedule of compliance in an issued permit if he determines good and valid cause (such as an act of God, strike, flood, materials shortage or other event over which the permittee has little or no control) exists for such revision.
3. Permittee must apply for and obtain a new permit prior to the expiration date of current permit. The application must be submitted to the department at least 90 calendar days before the expiration date of the current permit, unless written permission for an extension of the time is timely requested and the Department grants the extension.
4. Subject to the Director's right to modify, revoke or terminate the current permit, it shall continue to remain in full force and effect after the date of expiration if the permittee has applied for a new permit in accordance with the time frame required by this section, and a new permit has not been issued prior to the expiration date of the current permit.
(Ord. 13-1090, § 9, passed 3-12-2013; Ord. 932, passed 8-26-2008)